~My National Treasure~ (A Riley Poole FanFiction)

Chapter 11 - At The Lake

After 15 minutes of weaving through walking feet, wandering eyes, and moving cars, Riley had made it to the lakefront.

On the lakefront, there was a park. It was full of tall trees and winding paths, not to mention many people. Some type of festival was going on. Riley searched until he found a sign, reading, 'Festival of Flowers'.

'Maybe the beach will be calmer, with everyone gathered here for the festival.' He started to make his way to the beach, growing tired of weaving through crowds.

A little girl tapped his shoulder. He turned hesitantly, not in the mood to interact with people.

"Would you like a daisy, sir?" She held out a single flower.

He looked down at the girl, a smile forming on his lips. In the middle of all this chaos, this girl was the little innocent flower giver.

"Thanks." Riley accepted the flower, nodding his head before dashing off to the beach.

~~~~~~~~~~

Barely anyone was on the beach that day. The festival had taken a large chunk of the usual beach-goers. The temperature had also dropped. It was May 1st, so the weather in Wisconsin wasn't exactly summer-like.

It was 47 degrees, and the sky was grey. A storm was obviously on it's way.

The thunder pounding in the distance was a big kick starter to Riley. He started checking every bench along the shore, but there was no Alex in sight.

He bit his lip anxiously, and looked at the water. He turned, panoramic style, taking in as much as possible.

'Wait.'

About fifty yards away, a small, drenched figure sat in the sand, letting the waves surround it.

"Alex?" Riley whispered cautiously, before running over to the figure. It was definitely Alex. Soaking wet hair hung limply, framing her already tiny face. She had a deathly depressing look on her face, staring out onto the lake.

"Alex" Riley crouched next to her getting no reply. He felt the water. It was freezing.

"Alex, come on...." He hooked his arm around hers and tried to get we to stand, move back from the waves, but she wouldn't. She just sat still as a stone.

"Please, you're going to get sick-" Riley was cut off.

"Why are you here?"

"Because I care about you. All of us do."

"No, you don't." Alex took her eyes off of the water to look up at him. It was obvious she'd been crying. Her cheeks were red, stained with tears. "I'm just a burden to all of you. You should've left where you found me."

"A burden? This is the most fun us three have had in forever. The day we found you was the best day of my life."
He wrapped an arm around her shivering body, and pulled her close.

"Really?" She whispered.

"Really. You're smart, kind, funny, and the most beautiful girl I've ever met."

Alex smiled and rested her head in his shoulder.

"Please don't run off ever again. I love you, and-"

Alex looked up at him. "What?"

"I love you. I have since you said your first words to me." He said this with confidence.

"I love....you. I love you, I love you!" Alex shouted gleefully. "I can't remember the last time I said that."

"You will, I promise you." he smiled, kissing her forehead.

She smirked and kissed him, taking him by surprise. They kissed for a long while, shutting out the rest of the world, until it started to drizzle. Alex looked up, a drop hitting her nose.

"We need to get you inside." Riley stood. The second Alex wasn't touching him, she was cold again. Everything was cold.

Riley helped her shivering body up.

"How do you feel? I know you're cold, but do you feel drowsy, or even confused?"

Alex stumbled forward a little, which answered Riley's question. "What? No, I'm fine.." She said, holding her head. "Just a little headache."

Riley shook his head. "No, you're not fine." He held onto her while she walked, but it was dreadfully slow. "You know what..." He quickly picked her up, bridal style, before he started jogging back towards the city. "We have to find Abby and Ben."

Alex nodded before shutting her eyes, partly because of the immense headache, and because, all of a sudden, she felt really tired.

She could hear Riley talking to her, but she couldn't make her body respond. She could barely let out a whisper. Her whole body seemed to shut down.

Next thing she knew, there was darkness.